Newburgh girls varsity basketball working with modified teams; video

NEWBURGH – The girls’ varsity basketball team at Newburgh Free Academy had a rough start to the season, going 3-7 in its first 10 games.

Not only was head coach Rich Desiderio looking to shake things up at the varsity level, he was also thinking of how he could build the program from the ground up in the years to come.

Turns out he found a way to kill two birds with one stone.

For the past few weeks, the NFA varsity team has spent some time at modified girls’ basketball practices at South Middle School and Temple Hill Academy. The varsity players have taught the modified girls about their shooting form, breaking the press and the ins-and-outs of the man-to-man defense.

The modified players have been thrilled to have them in. At the same time, the varsity team has taken off.

NFA has won five straight games since starting to work with the modified teams and the players think it’s no coincidence.

Check out Thursday’s Times Herald-Record (and Varsity845) for the full scoop on how the NFA varsity team turned its season around.

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Check out the video above for some highlights from practice as well as interview clips with Emily and Katie Cook and Taylor Brummell.

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What are you looking forward to as the girls’ basketball regular season winds down? Any big games you have circled? Which teams are the teams to beat? Let me know on Twitter : @THR_Montgomery.

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Blog Author

Will Montgomery

Will Montgomery covers boys' soccer, girls' basketball, boys' and girls' swimming and diving, boys' lacrosse and baseball (including the Hudson Valley Renegades) for Varsity845.com and the Times Herald-Record. Prior to joining the TH-R in November ... Read Full